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WTHS
WTHS '''(95.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Studio Networks and broadcasts a Spanish CHR format. The station's studios and offices are located in Downtown Chicago with its sister stations and the transmitter site is atop Willis Tower. History '''WDHF: Easy-listening The station began broadcasting on March 9, 1959 as WDHF, owned by Hi-Fi systems and record store owner Austin Dover. Its call sign stood for Dover Hi-Fi. The station operated out of Dover's store in the Evergreen Plaza in Evergreen Park, Illinois. Its transmitter and tower was in Oak Lawn. WDHF's studios and deHaan's record store moved to 102nd and Western Avenue in Chicago, in 1961. In 1964, WDHF was sold to Randall Broadcasting for $200,000. Its studios were moved to the Loop, at 108 N. State St. In 1966, WDHF was sold to the Hancock Radio for $427,000. In 1971, the station's transmitter was moved to the John Hancock Center on the Near North Side of Chicago. From 1959 to 1973, WDHF aired an easy listening/big band format. Top 40 years In 1973, the station was sold to Metromedia for $2.75 million and it adopted an adult contemporaryformat. The following year, WDHF adopted a top 40 format. During this era, WDHF was the local broadcaster of the weekly syndicated program American Top 40. Jim Channell, known on the air as "Captain Whammo", was a DJ on the station during its top 40 years. On December 1, 1976, the station's call letters were changed to WMET, while retaining its top 40 format. In 1979, Metromedia flipped WMET to an AOR format. In 1982, WMET was sold to Doubleday Broadcasting for $9.5 million. On January 11, 1985, at 3 p.m., WMET switched to an adult contemporary format. As a promotional stunt, in the days leading up to the format change the station periodically interrupted the rock programming with static and a man's voice stating "enough is enough". Ratings were poor under the new format, and the station was sold to Flint Chicago Associates for $12.5 million in early 1986. In May 1986, the station's call sign was changed to WRXR, and it adopted an early version of what would later become the adult hits format (described as "Male Adult Contemporary" by station management), with a playlist featuring artists like The Beach Boys, The Doobie Brothers, ZZ Top and Sade. In 1987, WRXR was sold to Pyramid Broadcasting for $15 million. Smooth jazz era On August 3, 1987, the station's call letters were changed to WNUA and the station adopted a format which featured new-age music and smooth jazz, along with music from R&B and rock artists that were compatible with the station's sound. WNUA's original slogan was "Music For a New Age", and New Age was the source of the station's call letters. By 1989, the station's slogan was "Smooth Rock, Smooth Jazz". "Smooth Rock" would later be dropped from its slogan. As a smooth jazz station, WNUA was a major pioneer in the format. In 1995, the station's owner, Pyramid Communications, was acquired by Evergreen Media. In 1997, Evergreen merged with Chancellor Broadcasting. Chancellor merged with Capstar and restructured as AMFM, Inc. in 1999, and in 2000 merged with Clear Channel Communications making WNUA a Clear Channel station. In late 2006, three Smooth Jazz personalities, WNUA's Ramsey Lewis, Annie Ashe, and Dave Koz, were tapped by Broadcast Architecture to syndicate their respective shows on its Smooth Jazz Network. WNUA won Radio & Records' Smooth Jazz Station of the Year award eight consecutive years, from 1998 to 2005, and was the recipient of the Marconi Award for NAC/Jazz Station of the Year in 2004. "Mega" and "El Patron" On May 22, 2009, at 9:50am, after the station played David Sanborn's "Chicago Song", WNUA stunted for 5 minutes with a ticking clock and an announcer saying "In _ minutes, 95.5 reaches its big/mega event." Along with the clock sound, they aired a recap of jingles and moments from its history as WDHF, WMET, WRXR, and WNUA. 95.5 then had a countdown from 10 to 1 switching in the middle from English to Spanish. At 9:55 am, WNUA flipped formats to Spanish CHR as "Mega 95.5", starting off with "Enamora" by Juanes. Following lackluster ratings during its 3-year tenure, "Mega 95.5" left the airwaves on June 19, 2012 at noon, after playing "Creo en Ti" by Mexican rock band Reik. WNUA shifted to a Regional Mexican format known as "El Patrón 95.5" to directly compete with simulcast duo WQUA 106.1/WUUA 96.1. However, like "Mega", "El Patron" struggled with poor ratings. Changes in ownership; "Latino Hits" debuts On October 22, 2014, Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia, announced the sale of WNUA to RB Media, the predecessor of its current owner, Studio Networks. The sale was completed on December 30th, and WNUA was consummated on January 3, 2015. That same day, WNUA returned to its former Spanish CHR format, now using the "95.5 Latino Hits" branding. Unlike its "Mega" era, the new WNUA aired more Spanish rhythmic titles from J Balvin, Don Omar, and other reggaeton artists. With the change, the station's ratings skyrocketed to 3.7 (in January 2015) from a 0.9 (in December 2014). In March 2015, the station's calls were changed to WTHS, marking the end of the 28-year use of the WNUA calls. Category:Chicago Category:Illinois Category:Radio stations established in 1959 Category:Spanish Top 40 radio stations Category:95.5 FM Category:Stations broadcasting in HD Radio Category:Studio Networks